Refrigerator



J. LINSLEY.

REFRIGERATOR.

(No Model.)

Patented Jan. 6,1885.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOEL LINSLEY, OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.3l0,21l, dated January6, 1885.

Application filed September 22, R 84. (No Illflllrl.)

.l'0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JoEL LIINSII'J'JY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Burlington, in the county of Ohittendcn and State ofVermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRefrigerators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvemeilits in dry-air refrigerators, inwhich the ice-chamher is so located as to cause a continuous and perfectinterior circulation of the air by directing the warm air of theprovision-room into the top of the ice-chamber; thence, as it becomeschilled by contact with the cooling material, it falls through thischamber, depositing in it on its way all moisture and impurities whichit has gathered from the provisionroom, whence they are carried offthrough the drip. The air thus dried, purified, and cooled continues todescend through a side flue, and again enters the provision-room at itsbottom, whence it is drawn by the force of the current caused by thedifference intemperature at the top of the provision-room up throughthis room, and thence again into the icechamber, to be recooled and purified as before.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide an air-tightreceptacle or tank to contain the ice, said tank to be removable, andprovided with a faucet which passes through the wall of therefrigerator, and is so located in the ice-chamber that the air from theprovision-room shall have a free and unimpeded circulation entirelyaround it, thereby enabling it to possess the greatest attainablesurface for cooling the currents of air which pass over, and condenseupon its enameled extcrior all the moisture and impurities containcd inthese currents second, to secure a greatcr economy in the use of ice, asadditional cooling properties are constantly supplied to the exteriorsurface of the tank by the-presence of an increasing quantity ofice-water to supplement the ice which the tank contains, and whichcooperates with the ice and greatly increases its cooling-power; at thesame time the ice, being thus protected from direct contact with thewarm air as it leaves the provision-room, is much less rapidly wasted orconsumed; the effect is to produce a more cooling temperature on accountof the unchanging cooling-surface; third, to furnish, especially inthose localities where ice is expensive and must be used in limitedquantities, pure cold ice-water, for drinking or other purposes, whichis always ready for use, with out any additional expense save the slightcost of the tank-an amount speedily repaid by the greatly-decreasedconsumption of the ice for refrigerating purposes when placed within thetank, as described.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichsimilar letters indicate like parts.

Figure l is a perspective view of a refrigorator, a portion of the frontand end being broken away to show the position and general form of thetank. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the top of the refrigerator.

A is a refrigerator; 1; room; 0, the ice-chamber; l), the passage forthe admission of the warm air at the top of the provisioirroom intothe-icechambcr, and E the line to convey the cold air from theicechamber into the lower partof the provision-room.

F is the inclined floor or bottom of the icechamber, which is designedto catch and convey the water which is formed in the icechamher to theoutside of the refrigerator by means of a trough or gutter at its loweredge, which is connected with a waste-pipe.

G is the metallic ice-tank and water-cooler, having its interior andexterior surfaces onameled to better preserve the purity of its contentsand its outside from injury by dampness. If preferred, its exteriorsurface may be corrugated in order to enlarge its condensingsurface. Itis provided with suitable han dies, so that it can be convenientlyremoved through the opening H in the top of the refrigerator, forcleansing or other purposes. The opening If is securely closed by thehinged door It. A removable metallic faucet, g, which is passed throughthe walls of the refrigerator, serves to draw off the ice-water in thetank. Its connection with the tank being suitably ll, the provisionscrew threaded and provided with proper bushing, it can be readilyseparated from the tank whenever it is desired to remove the latter fromthe ice-chamber. In height the tank G should not extend above theopening D when its cover I is in place. This cover is so constructed asto be hermetically sealed, to effectually prevent the possibility of thecontents of the tank being in any way contaminated by the vapor orgases, which are more or less laden withimpurities,fromtheprovisionroom.A spring of any suitable kind is so arranged above the cover I as toprevent the shutting of the outside door, 71 unless the cover is firsttightly closed, so as to more securely protect the contents of the tankwhile the ice-chamber is closed. The bottom of the tank G is inclined,preferably in the same direction as the floor of the ice-chamber, forthe purpose of the -more readily conducting the moisture which arisesfrom the warm air from the pro vision-room coming in contact with theicetank and condensing upon its surface, thence running to its lowestpoint, from whence it drips on the floor F, and thence is conducted awaythrough the waste-pipe. The tank G is elevated upon legs or bosses, andis so located within the ice-chamber as to allow a sufficient open spacearound its entire outside surface for the free passage of all warmercurrents of air down around it, depositing upon its smooth chilledsurface as it descends all its moisture and impurities, in the same wayas it would ordinarily upon the ice were the latter placed upon thefloor of the ice-chamber, instead of within the tank; Thus constructedand located, it is found that the tank presents to the descendingcurrents of air-a much larger condensing and uniform cooling surfacethan the ice alone; that the consumption of the ice within the tank ismuch less rapid than when exposed in the ice-chamber in the usual way,and that its refrigerating-power is greatly increased by the addition ofthe ice-water within the tank,-

and that the water-cooler thus provided forms a convenient, cheap, andvery desirable addition to a refrigerator of the character described afeature especially appreciated where ice is expensiveand one which in noway impedes the air-currents within the ice-chamber, but

rather materially aids in cooling and purifying them.

I am aware that a removable water-cooler, provided also with a removableice-pan and drip, and located within the ice-chamber of a refrigerator,is not new, and this I do not claim, broadly; but, so far as I aminformed, a watercooler has not been heretofore constructed whichconstitutes at the same time an ice receptacle hermetically sealed toprevent its contents being vitiated by the entrance of the impuritiesalways existing in the atmosphere of a dry air refrigerator, and solocated within this chamber that an open space surrounds its entireoutside surface for the free passage of the descending air-currents,absolutely essential to the successful working of all suchrefrigerators, thereby adding greatly to the cooling and condensingsurface, largely con; tributing to an economical consumption of ice, andcreating a more uniform cooling temperature on account of there beingalways the same cooling-surface, instead of a constantlydecreasing one,where the ice is unprotected.

\Vhat I claim is The ice-chamber C, with opening H, in the refrigeratorA, in combination with the re movable icetank G, provided with theair-tight coverI and removable faucet g, and elevated on legs, so thatthere shall be an open space entirely around its outside, substantiallyas described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I do affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

JOEL LINSLEY.

\Vitnesscs: I

GrLiRL s I ALLEN, Turns A I-Iuzvur.

